


Green-Eyed Luthor

by Melui



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bedsharing, Camping, College, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Mike is kind of a douche but not really, Mutual Pining, SuperCorp, absolutely no het love in this whatsoever, jealous!lena, karlena, oblivious idiots in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-01 14:09:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20816435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melui/pseuds/Melui
Summary: Three times Lena cockblocks Mike, and one time she doesn't.Lena's just being a good friend and stepping in when Kara needs her to. Or is she? Little does Kara realise, she's not the only one pining for her best friend.





	Green-Eyed Luthor

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written a one-shot before. Here goes nothing!
> 
> You can read this fic in Russian [here](https://ficbook.net/readfic/9142532) :)

The first time Lena did it, it was a bit of a surprise.

A group of them had met up and commandeered a corner of the bleachers. It was a hot day in October, and they were all in their junior year at National City University. Well, all except for Lena Luthor, who already had her first degree and was technically a junior for the second time, despite being a year younger than Kara.

Mike was being his usual self.

“Come on, Kara. Carl’s got his dad’s place for the whole weekend and the guys have got a load of kegs. It’ll be a good time!”

The sun shone in her eyes, and Kara was glad she had remembered to bring a baseball cap this morning. She pulled it low over her eyes, blocking out both the sun and Mike, and blew out a breath. “You know, I’m not sure. Keg parties aren’t really my th-”

“You’ll be able to watch me stand on my head while I try to drink as much as possible! It’ll be hilarious. C’mon, bring Alex. I’m sure she’d be up for it,” he said, winking and leaning over to slug her gently in the arm. “And maybe while we’re there we could-”

A low, measured voice piped up from Kara’s other side. “Kara, don’t forget this weekend is when you promised me you’d help me move all the stuff from my mom’s place to my apartment. It’s the only weekend we’ll be able to do it because she’s away in Metropolis.”

Kara glanced over at her friend in surprise, as they’d made no such plans. Lena didn’t look up from the engineering textbook she had spread over her lap. Wisps of her long, dark hair were moving in the gentle breeze, and she tucked some of it behind her ear with one hand as she made a note in the margin with a pencil, her silver bracelets jangling daintily. Kara sighed wistfully, the sound lost in the breeze. Golly, Lena was really pretty with the sun shining on her hair like that. She shook her head and turned back to Mike.

“Shoot, Lena’s right. I said I’d help her a while ago. Sorry Mike!” Kara tried to force her face into looking regretful, but she wasn’t sure whether she managed it. His expression said that he wasn’t impressed with her excuse, and he looked over at Lena in irritation.

Lena must have felt his gaze on her, and looked up. She gave him a really sweet smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Maybe next time, Matthews.”

He rolled his eyes and picked up the football at his feet and gestured to James, who ambled to his feet and together they headed down the bleachers towards the field, pushing each other and nearly stepping on other students on their way down.

Kara leaned back on the seats, fanning herself with one of her English Lit textbooks, a dog-eared copy of _Macbeth_ she’d inherited from Alex. Lena had lent her her own copy, but it was pristine and Kara was almost afraid to touch it in case she accidentally bent a page. It was so perfect that Kara was pretty sure that Lena could’ve sold it back to the shop for the full retail price, if she’d needed to. Not that she did.

“Thanks Lena,” she said quietly, shifting down a step so that she could sit next to the brunette, trying not to jostle the book on her lap. Lena looked across at her, squinting as the sun shone directly into her eyes. Kara smiled and pulled her baseball cap off her head, setting it on Lena’s and hiding that pale skin and those lovely green eyes from the hot glare of the sun. She ran her hand over the back of it and down Lena’s hair (oh, it was so _soft_), settling on her waist and leaning her head on Lena’s shoulder.

“You’re welcome,” Lena murmured. “You didn’t sound into it.”

“I really wasn’t,” Kara replied, shuffling the few millimeters closer to Lena and tightening the hand on her hip, causing Lena to rest her head on Kara’s in response. “Thanks for the rescue.”

“It’s not really rescuing you if I’ve now roped you into actually moving all the crap from my mom’s place to my new flat!”

“Apartment, Lena,” Kara said, tapping the bill of the cap playfully.

“Oh yeah,” Lena said with a laugh. “There I go again.”

“You and your adorable Irishness,” Kara replied. Lena had spent most of her childhood and the first half of her teenage years at a boarding school in Ireland, excepting holidays, and every now and again, she slipped back into her Irish dialect for things. Lena grew frustrated with herself sometimes for that, since Lillian was grooming her into sounding as American as possible so that she could take over LuthorCorp one day. For herself, Kara thought it was endearing, and whenever they had been drinking together and Lena was feeling especially tipsy, she lapsed back into her natural Irish accent and it did something soft to Kara’s insides that she didn’t want to name, for the sake of their friendship.

They were friends, and Kara loved Lena.

She did. Lena was all she saw, sometimes.

“Soooo do I at least get pizza out of this deal or are you just using me for my muscles, Luthor?”

Lena blushed and shut her textbook over her pencil. “You’ll get pizza, root beer, _and_ ice cream if you behave yourself!”

They spent the weekend packing all of Lena’s things into boxes and hefting them into a truck Lena had rented, laughing at old photos and diary entries. They unpacked them all again at the other end, clinking beer bottles together as they found places for all of Lena’s geeky models of the solar system and periodic elements, and singing badly to the punk rock Lena insisted on playing at top volume.

That Saturday evening, their tasks complete, Kara had a much better time doing nothing with her best friend than she would’ve had doing something with Mike. They slumped on the sofa with their feet up on Lena’s new coffee table eating Chinese takeout, with Netflix playing to nobody as they watched funny videos of dogs on Youtube instead, their heads close together as they laughed.

* * * * *

The second time it happened, Kara, Mike, and Sam were leaving their English literature elective class together, discussing _Nineteen Eighty-Four_ by Orwell; they were going to have to read it over the coming weeks ready for a seminar in a month’s time. Kara was privately relieved, because she’d already read it the year before, having found it at Lena’s place, the pages curled with age and the name _Lena Luthor age 14_ penciled in neat letters on the inside cover.

It was close to lunch time, and they took their lunch out to the quad. Sam text Lena to let her know where they were, and she’d replied to say she’d be along in ten or so minutes. Sam let Kara know this, and Kara settled back on the bench they were sitting at, a soft smile on her face at the thought of Lena’s arrival.

After a few minutes, Sam realized she’d left her notebook in the lecture hall, and had to double back, leaving Kara alone on the bench with Mike.

“So, Kara,” Mike started, turning to face in her direction.

“Yeah?” Kara asked, absorbed in unsticking two donuts from each other while trying to keep the icing equal on each of them so one wouldn’t end up bald.

“The new _Jurassic Park_ film is out. I was wondering if you wanted to go and see it with me tomorrow night?” he asked.

The donuts finally peeled apart, leaving the icing mostly intact on each of them. “Yes!” Kara cheered, putting one of them back down in the box and taking a huge bite of the other.

“Great!” Mike said, sounding pleased with himself. “I’ll pick you up at seven? There’s a showing at nine at the Palace, so that’ll give us time to go for dinner before.”

Kara choked on her mouthful of donut, spraying crumbs everywhere. Mike clapped her on the back as she wheezed. The hope that Mike might be put off by the unladylike display he’d just witnessed flashed through her mind, but no. Had she accidentally agreed to _go out_ with Mike?

Oh gods, no.

Surely not.

Oh _no_.

Her eyes widened.

“That excited, huh?” he asked, grinning. “I’ve been looking forward to this movie since they announced it.”

“Which movie?” Lena’s mellifluous voice said from over her shoulder. Kara’s shoulders sagged in relief and, still coughing, she swiveled so that she could see her friend.

She watched as Lena walked around to stand in front of them, holding several heavy textbooks in her arms, her hair in a messy bun. She was wearing a chunky scarf that draped lazily around her neck, so long it almost trailed on the ground, and Kara had to fight the urge to wrap it once more around Lena’s shoulders. The thought struck her as too intimate for the setting, so she squeezed her donut gently instead.

“Kara and I are going to go and see the new _Jurassic Park_ movie tomorrow.”

Lena took one glance at Kara’s somewhat shellshocked expression and raised an eyebrow. In an instant, she seemed to make a decision. “Great! I’ve been wanting to see that film as well.”

Beside her, Mike narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, probably to object, but Kara cut him off before he could. “You should come with us!” she said, in an excited tone.

“Really? I wouldn’t be butting in?” Lena asked, a smile spreading across her face as she brushed a wisp of hair away from her face that had worked itself loose from her bun.

“Not at all. In fact, Mike suggested that we got dinner before the movie, so you should come to that too. That’s okay, right Mike?”

“Well-”

“I’ll be there,” Lena said, humor in her voice now. Kara stifled a snort. “I can’t wait.”

And that’s how, the next night, Kara found herself sitting between Lena and Mike in the premium seats at the movie theater, a huge bucket of popcorn on her lap, and the world’s largest drink in the armrest between herself and Lena.

Lena was sporting a shit-eating grin, and Mike was slumped in his seat, moodily watching the trailers for the upcoming movies. Kara felt a little sorry for him, but definitely not sorry enough to feel bad about the outcome. Lena had insisted on paying for the most expensive seats and for all their snacks, so he had no real reason to complain, but this evening hadn’t gone as he’d clearly hoped.

The movie wasn’t the greatest, in the end. Not as good as the first one, in which a character that looked very like Lena had been subjected to the best death scene in the whole series, but it was still fun. Kara especially enjoyed Lena burying her face in her shoulder every time something scary was about to happen. Every now and again, Lena’s hand drifted over to her knee and squeezed, before she withdrew it and folded her arms over her chest, leaving her knee feeling tingly. Kara was far more aware of Lena’s presence next to her than she was of what was happening on the screen.

Afterwards, Mike decided that he was going to have a few drinks with the guys. He invited them both, but they declined, opting to walk home instead. The night was mild, but the air felt cool, as if the season was about to change. Kara looked forward to autumn, and she knew that Lena’s favorite season was winter. Kara lived closer, so they walked towards her home first, their arms linked, discussing the movie and the assignments that they had to do for college. Lena was working on several prototypes, and she’d been so busy in the labs that Kara had hardly seen her lately. She missed her friend, and said so.

“I’m sorry, Kara,” Lena said, sounding as sad as she looked. She stopped walking, and Kara turned to face her. “I wish I wasn’t so busy. I miss you too.” She reached up and ran her fingers through the ends of her hair, a trait that Kara knew indicated that Lena felt anxious about something. “How about… how about this weekend, you come over to my place? We can watch Netflix, order in, and just not work. No work, I promise!”

She looked so hopeful that Kara couldn’t have said no even if she’d wanted to. She had a ton of work that she needed to do, but one more second of looking at Lena’s face and she knew she’d be procrastinating her work for another few days. “That sounds great!” she burst out, so loudly that she startled Lena, whose expression morphed into one of pure joy.

True to her word, Lena did no work at all that weekend. Kara arrived late Saturday morning and they went out for brunch, before buying supplies and heading to Lena’s apartment.

And if they spent that Saturday evening trying out all the different bottles of scotch that Lena had brought from her mother’s place, tipsily building a blanket fort out of the sofa cushions and falling asleep on them once it had collapsed, what of it?

They spent Sunday morning with slight hangovers, Kara slouched on the sofa with Lena’s legs in her lap while Lena read to her from a poetry book. They both had large mugs of hot chocolate that Lena had made by boiling milk and melting chocolate shavings into it, topping it off with cream she whipped herself and more shaved chocolate. Kara didn’t think she had ever tasted anything so wonderful, except for potstickers of course.

Lena’s voice was quiet as she read, and Kara enjoyed the way that Lena formed the sentences, her voice precise but soft. After a few poems, Kara quietly asked Lena to read in her Irish accent, and after tilting her head and giving Kara a tender look, she complied.

Kara had the feeling that if could only listen to one voice for the rest of her life, it would be Lena’s, reciting poetry like this on a sleepy Sunday morning, her lilting voice speaking the words straight into Kara’s soul. The fact of it was that there was nowhere on earth she would rather be, no one else she would rather be with, than right here, with Lena Luthor beside her.

Of course, they could be closer… Kara swallowed the desire to ask Lena to turn around, to put her head in her lap instead of her legs, so that she could run her hands through her dark hair, to perhaps lean down for a gentle kiss. But she pushed it aside. Lena had never shown any interest in her in that way, had not shown interest in anyone at all, in fact, mostly focusing on her studies. Lena barely ever mentioned her love life, and for as long as Kara had known her (which admittedly had only been since she started college and bumped into the brunette in a canteen, spilling Lena’s books and Kara’s fries all over the greasy floor; Kara still didn’t know why Lena had smiled instead of getting cross), Lena had never had a partner.

She knew Lena was gay, of course. That had come out only after a few weeks, stated very matter-of-factly when Kara had shyly asked her about her preferences, but still.

Kara brushed her hand down Lena’s calf as she took another sip of her hot chocolate, watching as Lena raised her eyebrow at her over the top of her book. It was just that… Lena had never shown interest in her that way, despite how much they both seemed to enjoy each other’s company, despite how much more open Lena was with her than with anyone else. So, Kara sat on her feelings and her mounting romantic affection for her best friend, even as they spiraled within her.

No matter that her heart thudded painfully whenever she thought of Lena going on a date with someone. No matter that every time Lena touched her somehow, goosebumps erupted in the wake of it. No matter that she felt like she couldn’t breathe whenever Lena was close.

She had a little bit of Lena’s heart, and that had to be enough.

* * * * *

The third time it happened, they were all at a bar on a Thursday night in November.

Their little group of friends were sat at a large round booth, and Alex had headed off to the bar with Lena to get the next round. Winn and James were having a discussion about football statistics, discussing which players in the NCU team might get drafted for the NFL the next year. Kara zoned out of their discussion with a roll of her eyes; it wasn’t that she wasn’t interested in football, but there were other things that they could be talking about. Anything else.

Mike was leaning over the edge of the table, poking at his cell phone and occasionally joining in with the football talk whenever he recognized the name of a player, but most of his attention was on Kara.

Truthfully, although Kara thought he was a nice guy, she couldn’t even remember when he’d joined their circle. He’d been one of James’ friends from high school, and it seemed that he wasn’t there one day, and the next, he was there all the time, just as if he’d always been. The first girl he’d hit on was Lena, who had rolled her eyes before politely, but very firmly, turned him down. Kara was never quite sure what she’d said to him _exactly_, but he never asked her out a second time, and the butterflies in her stomach settled down.

Unfortunately, no matter how many times Kara herself turned him down, Mike always seemed to think he was in with a chance. As he did tonight.

“It’ll be fun, you’ll see!” he said, leaning over and winking at her. “I’m great on the shooting range. I can help position you so that your aim will be good. I’ve got a few booths reserved this Saturday afternoon-”

“Did you know that I have several marksmanship qualifications, Mike?” a velvety voice interrupted, just as Lena slid into the booth beside her, enveloping her in the subtle scent of her perfume and tickling Kara’s arm with the ends of her loose, wavy hair. “Kara, don’t forget that this weekend you promised to come camping with me so we could test out the night-vision goggles prototypes I’ve been working on for ages.”

Kara didn’t dare glance up at Lena as she started to pass around drinks, instead choosing to look across the table at Alex, who was giving her an amused look, before her gaze slid across to Lena.

“Camping?!” Mike burst out. “In November. Are you serious?”

“Deadly,” Lena remarked, bumping Kara with her hip so that she slid up the booth a little more, further away from Mike. “I need to test them away from the light pollution. Kara was kind enough to say she’d drive me out there Saturday afternoon and back again on Sunday morning.”

Kara chanced a look at Mike. He was staring at Lena as if she’d gone mad. “It’s supposed to pour this weekend, you know.”

“The goggles are waterproof,” Lena said with a raise of her eyebrow, lifting her glass to her lips and taking a sip of whichever scotch the bar had. Judging by the infinitesimal wince that crossed her face, it wasn’t a particularly good one. “There wouldn’t be any point in making ones that weren’t.”

“Okay yeah, but you’ll get soaked!”

“We’ll be in a tent, Mike,” she replied with a smile.

“You’ll be sharing? There’s no privacy in a tent.”

Lena lifted her shoulder in a half-hearted shrug, as if the idea of changing into her pajamas in front of Kara was an everyday occurrence.

It wasn’t.

Kara would’ve remembered if _that_ had ever happened.

“I don’t mind if you don’t, Kara?” Lena asked, rolling her glass between her long fingers and looking over at her.

“I- I don’t mind at all,” Kara squeaked in response, taking a too-large gulp of her beer and coughing when the bubbles fizzed up her nose. She met Alex’s knowing gaze across the table and cleared her throat. “I’m sure Lena’s tent could fit my whole apartment in it anyway. No, um, accidental peeks!”

“But… ugh, well, it’s your funeral,” Mike said, his tone exasperated, not being able to come up with any more reasons why they, but namely Kara, shouldn’t go. He finished his beer and picked up the new one that Lena had brought him and begrudgingly raised it. “Thanks for the drink, Luthor,” he said, before turning moodily back to the football conversation between Winn and James.

In her pocket, her cell phone buzzed with a text message. She pulled it out and unlocked it, seeing it was a text from Alex.

**Alex:** _ Lena just totally cockblocked Mike AGAIN and you don’t look upset about it at all_

She shoved her cell back in her pocket and sent Alex a warning look. Alex smirked, and turned her attention back to Maggie, who was sitting beside her.

By lunchtime on Saturday, when Kara was driving over to Lena’s place to pick her up, the clouds started to clear. By the time she was parked, the rain had stopped altogether. She frowned at the sky; why could the weather report not just be _accurate_ for once? _Not_, of course, that she was suddenly going to ditch Lena and go to the shooting range with Mike. As if.

Kara had packed for all weather eventualities anyway, just in case. Kara helped Lena carry down the tent, her backpack, a bag of poles, some pillows, and some other gear. Together she and Lena drove several hours out of the city on Saturday afternoon, and as it was Kara’s turn to pick the music, they belted out show tunes. Lena was dressed in a worn soft checkered shirt over a black tank top, black jeans, and Ray-Bans. The wind tossed her dark hair about her face as she looked over at Kara and smiled. “Thanks for coming with me,” she called out over the strains of _For Good_ from _Wicked_.

Kara kept one of her arms out of the window as she drove, tapping the door, but she looked over at Lena. “Are there even any goggles to test?”

“Nope,” Lena replied, popping the ‘p’ and clearly fighting the urge to laugh. Kara had no such restraint, and burst out laughing while Lena dissolved into giggles, and then into full-blown laughter. After only a few seconds, Kara she had to pull over to wipe her streaming eyes.

“You just seemed like you… needed saving,” Lena said, once she got her breath back.

“My hero,” Kara replied with a smile, only half joking. She turned the key, and they started off again down the dusty road they had stopped on.

Lena quieted down after a moment. “Do you… how long do you think he’ll keep asking you out for?” she asked, unable to conceal the distaste in her voice. Something in her tone caused Kara to glance over at her, and she saw Lena giving her a curious look, with something almost bitter in her eyes.

Kara sighed. “I don’t know. I’ve never _actually_ agreed to any of his suggestions. I don’t know how many more ways I can say no. Lately though, you’ve been kind of doing that for me.”

Lena fiddled with her fingers in her lap, twisting them around. “Yeah, I- well it almost seems like you’re asking me to, somehow. I wish that you…” she trailed off, giving Kara a look she couldn’t interpret before sighing, shaking her head and looking back out of the window.

“You wish I… what?” Kara asked, her voice hesitant.

“It’s nothing, Kara. I think we’re almost there.”

* * * * *

They spent their Saturday afternoon setting up the tent, which Kara had been almost right about – it was enormous, and there were so many poles and pegs involved that Kara didn’t quite know what to do with them all. Luckily, Lena being her usual practical self, they were able to put it up fairly quickly. Once it was up, it was tall enough to stand up in with room to spare.

Saturday evening found them sharing chocolate bars, trail mix, and wine, sitting on camping chairs wrapped in blankets to keep the chill off. Kara managed to build a fire out of the supplies that Lena brought with them, and they toasted giant marshmallows. They pointed out various constellations to each other, and Lena dredged up facts about space from her first degree. She was quite happy to sit there and listen to Lena talk about space. The warmth in her body had nothing to do with the fire or the blankets she was surrounded by as she listened to her best friend talk about the stars.

Kara thought that the galaxies in the sky had nothing on the ones she saw in Lena’s eyes.

Once it got too cold to stay outside any longer, and the wine they drank made them sleepy, they ventured back inside the tent for the night.

Lena had brought an inflatable mattress with a pump, so that they didn’t have to sleep on the hard ground. She’d noticed Lena packing two feather pillows before they left National City, but Kara marveled as from out of a large laundry bag in the corner of the tent, Lena dragged expensive bedsheets and a mattress topper, as well as a duvet.

“What?” Lena questioned, looking up from where she was spreading the sheet over the mattress when she heard Kara giggling to herself.

“Who goes camping with feather pillows and thousand thread count sheets?” she said with a smile, kneeling down next to Lena and running her hand over the sheet, the softness of it making the inflatable mattress feel nicer than her own bed at home.

“Oh,” Lena said, a flush dusting her pale cheeks as she looked down at the sheets in embarrassment. “I’ve never really camped before and I thought… well, I thought since we’re out here, I could at least make it comfortable-”

“Lena, no, I love that you did this for us,” she said, rushing to reassure the brunette. “I think we’ll definitely sleep better on this than I did on the lumpy old rollout things Alex made us use when we camped in the back yard as teenagers.”

The warm smile on Lena’s face made Kara’s heart skip a beat. “We should get ready for bed,” she said, pulling her pajamas out of her backpack before looking at Kara.

“Yeah, can’t sleep in our clothes!” Kara exclaimed, as she pulled her hoody off and grabbed at the hem of her t-shirt. A warm hand on hers stopped her from removing it, and she stilled beneath Lena’s touch. She glanced up, questioningly.

Lena’s eyes were wide, and she stuck her finger in the air, spinning it around. Kara felt herself blush. “Oh, sorry!” she blurted, shifting around on her knees to give Lena some privacy to change. Even though… even though, she kind of wanted Lena to look.

Swallowing, she pulled off her shirt and jeans, yanking on her sleep shorts and a tank top, and watching as a moth knocked against the outside of the tent, attracted by the light within.

Behind her, she heard the duvet being lifted and the mattress creaking as Lena settled onto it. “You can turn around now,” she said. Kara did, and the butterflies in her stomach danced as she looked at Lena, cosy in the bed with her dark hair spread across the pillow, green eyes gazing at her. “Can you turn the lamp off?”

Kara reached up and turned off the lamp, which was hanging from a hook in the ceiling, and crawled into the bed, sighing as the sheets slid over her skin. This was unlike any camping she’d ever done before, and she stretched out, making herself comfortable. Although this was undoubtedly the best inflatable mattress she’d ever been on, it was not the largest, and as she stretched, she bumped into Lena.

“Um, sorry, I didn’t mean to,” she said into the darkness, wincing as her voice seemed louder than normal in the stillness of the night.

“It’s okay, darling,” Lena whispered, moving so that she was facing her. Kara could feel her body heat, and jumped slightly as Lena’s hand found hers under the cover. Soft fingers caressed hers before Lena linked their fingers. “Hi.”

“Hello,” Kara replied, the air feeling heavy around them. Kara’s heart thudded in her ears, and she wondered whether Lena could hear it in the silence that surrounded them. They’d never held hands like this before.

Lena lifted their hands and shifted closer, pressing gently against Kara and resting her head on her shoulder, before laying her arm hesitantly across her stomach. Her fingers brushed Kara’s left wrist, and Kara took the hint, tangling their fingers together. “Is this okay?”

“Y-yeah,” Kara stammered. She cleared her throat. “Are you cold?”

“Mmm, no, you’re just comfortable,” Lena murmured sleepily, nuzzling into Kara’s shoulder. Kara turned her head to face Lena, their foreheads brushing together. She could feel Lena’s breath on her collarbone and she felt heat flash down her body. How much she wished she could close the gap between them and kiss Lena, show her how she really felt about her. But no. She was sure that Lena wasn’t interested in her that way. She was just rescuing her from Mike and being kind to her. She was her best friend, and friends helped each other out.

_Her best friend, her best friend-_

Lena leaned up and kissed Kara’s cheek, close to the corner of her mouth. The kiss lingered a moment longer than it would if... if Kara turned slightly more to the right then-

“Goodnight,” Lena whispered against Kara’s skin, before settling back down, her arm tightening around Kara’s waist, her thumb slipping under Kara’s top and touching her bare skin.

Kara suppressed a groan and wrapped her other arm around Lena’s back. “Goodnight, Lena.”

This was torture of the most exquisite kind.

* * * * *

Kara sat cross-legged on the sofa, moving a playing piece around the Monopoly board. She was so far behind that she was never going to catch up, and had lost interest in the game as a result. They were at Lena’s apartment, it being her turn to host games night, and all of them had drunk far too much. Alex was asleep on the other sofa with her head on Maggie’s shoulder, who in turn was dozing off, her bottle of beer tipping dangerously in her lap. Jess and Winn were playing an exuberant game of Snap on the kitchen island, and James and Lucy had gone home an hour ago. It was well past midnight, and only Mike, Lena, and Kara were still playing. It seemed that nobody wanted to leave and head out into the driving rain that was beating against the windows.

Instead of paying attention to the game, Kara was watching Lena, who was sitting in the armchair opposite them. More specifically, watching Lena watch Mike. Mike, who had steadily been shifting around on the sofa so that he was sitting closer and closer to Kara, finally slinging his arm onto the cushions behind Kara’s head.

Lena’s eyes had been growing steadily colder as the game wore on, and Mike uttered stupid jokes and told stories about his time in the frat house the weekend before. As he shared a licentious story about two girls who had been sent to the closet in a childish game of seven minutes in heaven, his arm dropped so that it was resting on Kara’s shoulders and shot Lena a smirk. It was almost as if he expected Lena to react. In a flash, Lena’s eyes turned flinty and her mouth set in a hard line, but she said nothing. Instead, she got up and stormed away.

“What the _hell_ do you think you’re doing?” Kara hissed, leaning away and pushing Mike’s arm off her.

“I’m trying to help you out,” he complained. “Jeez, Kara.”

“Help me with what?” she huffed, standing up and sitting in Lena’s vacated seat, putting distance between them. “How does this help anything?!”

Mike leaned forward. “If I have to tell you, then you need more help than I thought,” he said, in a voice that said he knew more than what he was saying. In a voice that sounded almost resigned. “She’s _jealous_.”

“What do you mean?”

He rolled his eyes. “Just go and talk to her, Kara, for god’s sake.”

“To who?”

Mike let out an exasperated sigh and lay backwards on the sofa, his legs crossed. “_Lena_.”

Kara narrowed her eyes at him, but then looked around. She didn’t see Lena, and her apartment was pretty open plan, so she was probably in her bedroom or en suite, or the main bathroom. Giving Mike one last look and pushing his shoes off the armrest of the sofa, she headed in the direction of the bedroom.

The door was closed when she reached it, and she knocked. “Lena? It’s me.” She waited a few seconds before pushing the door open. The bedroom was empty, but a moment later, Lena stepped out of her en suite, wiping underneath her eyes.

When she saw Kara, she jumped in surprise, and Kara’s heart sank. Lena’s usually bright green eyes were dull, red-rimmed as if she’d spent the last few minutes crying. When she spoke, her voice was thicker than it usually was. “Hi, Kara.”

Kara hurriedly shut the door behind her. “Lena? What’s wrong?”

Lena scoffed, even as a tear escaped her eye. She dashed it away and cleared her throat. “Mike is a douche.”

“I know that. I’ve already told him as much, but Lena… why are you upset?” she asked, walking over to her. Lena sat on the edge of her bed, and Kara sat next to her, immediately taking one of Lena’s hands in hers, spreading her fingers out and interlocking them with her own.

Lena let out a wet laugh and kept her eyes on their locked hands, which she pulled into her lap. She took a shuddering breath. “I don’t know. No, wait, I do. I know that you deserve better than having someone like that chase after you. He’s just not taking the hint that you’re _clearly_ not interested in him. I mean,” she sniffed, “he seems pretty harmless on the whole, but I don’t _like_ seeing him do that. I- I just think you deserve better.”

“After you left, he told me that he was trying to help.”

“Help?” Lena asked, scoffing again. “Help with what?”

“He didn’t say.”

Lena huffed out an annoyed breath. “Well. That’s _helpful,_” she said, bitter sarcasm dripping from her tone.

Kara tightened the hand that held Lena’s, and lifted the other to cup Lena’s face, feeling the wetness of tears underneath her thumb, brushing them aside. Lena stilled beneath her touch, and Kara felt her heart leap. She smoothed her thumb over Lena’s cheek, and Lena leaned into her touch, closing her eyes.

“Why did his behavior tonight upset you?”

Lena sighed. “You just… deserve better.”

“Well, I don’t exactly have people lining up to date me,” Kara joked, attempting to lighten the atmosphere with levity, but the way Lena looked sharply at her told her that her attempt had fallen flat. “Lena?” she asked, removing her hand from Lena’s face.

The look in Lena’s eyes had turned from anger to something like disappointment, and she pulled away from Kara as she stood up, walking over towards the window, a torrent of rain falling against it, rivulets of water chasing each other down the glass. Kara stood up and made to approach Lena, but the sound of her footstep seemed to spur Lena into action.

She whirled around, and the look on her face stopped Kara in her tracks, one foot in front of the other. Lena came back towards her, her stride purposeful.

“You don’t have people lining up to date you?” Lena said, her voice low but soft, and the stiffness of her posture seemed at odds with the tenderness on her face. “How would you possibly know? You don’t even see what’s right in front of you.”

“Lena, nobody’s in front of me saying that they want me-”

“_I_ want you!” Lena burst out, a slightly hysterical-sounding laugh escaping her chest. “_I_ want you, Kara. For so long now, I- I’ve wanted to be the one you… but Mike, he-”

Kara took a step towards Lena, who stepped backwards, holding her hands up.

“No, Kara… I love you, so much, and in _so many_ ways. God, do you have any idea how hard that camping trip was? To sleep in the same bed as you but not… to _almost_ kiss you? I love you, but you… you don’t love me. Not in the same way. You don’t want me, you don’t _choose_ me, not in the same way that my heart chose yours.” She took a sharp breath, and then a look of horror crossed her face, and she ran her hand down her face, leaving fresh tears in its wake as she stared at Kara, her words spent.

At the same time that Kara’s heart was breaking at Lena’s distress, it was singing. Kara felt like the clouds had parted and all that shone through was sunshine on the clearest day imaginable. She felt breathless, she felt like she was floating. Blue eyes snapped up to meet green ones, and Kara made an instant decision.

Before she could second-guess herself, Kara stepped right into Lena’s space. Lena’s outstretched hands landed on her shoulders, sliding down to clutch at Kara’s shirt. “Lena…” Kara murmured, bringing both hands up to slide across Lena’s face and into her hair, before leaning down and brushing her lips against Lena’s.

The kiss was soft, _so_ soft, and Lena tasted of scotch and salt from her tears, but it was the best kiss Kara could ever remember having, because it was _Lena_. Lena’s lips were pliant under hers, and her hands tightened in Kara’s shirt when Kara brushed Lena’s bottom lip with her tongue, and Lena sighed into her mouth as she gave her the entrance Kara was asking for. Kara felt like she had come home, like this was always meant to happen.

Lena’s hands slid up from her shirt to her neck, her face, and Lena held her gently, reverently, like she was precious. Kara pulled back from the kiss, just a fraction, just enough to see Lena’s eyes, which were now shining with an entirely different emotion.

“Did you think you were the only one feeling like this?” Kara whispered against Lena’s lips before kissing her again. “Did you really think that I didn’t want this, want _you_, too? I’ve been in love with you for so long, Lena Luthor. You’re my best friend, but we could be… we could be more-”

“_Yes,_” Lena sighed, her breath hitching before she captured Kara’s lips again in a searing open-mouthed kiss that made Kara drop her hands to Lena’s hips, pulling them flush against each other. Kara slid her fingers up under Lena’s shirt to touch her skin, just a little, just enough, because she could. Kara held Lena in her arms as they kissed and murmured to each other, and they heard nothing but the quiet sounds the other made. They never let go of each other, not even for a moment, as if not being pressed against the other would be unbearable now that they were free to touch, to taste, to love.

They didn’t come out of the bedroom again for the rest of the night, preferring to stay wrapped up in each other and making up for the time they’d lost. They didn’t see Mike waking Alex and Maggie up half an hour after Kara had closed the door, their high-fives and gestures silent. They didn’t see all their friends sneak out of the apartment.

They did, however, grin sheepishly when they arrived at lunch at Noonan’s the following day, hand in hand, when all their friends burst into cheers and wolf-whistles. Mike gave them a double thumbs-up.

Kara and Lena settled down into adjoining chairs, their fingers tangled together, and smiled identical smiles.

“So,” Kara said, unable to keep the joy from her voice. “What are we having for lunch?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :) I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think? :) <3
> 
> My [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/melui-the-ravenclaw) and a new [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Melui_Ravenclaw) I made if you'd like to say hi! :)


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